Game of the Year 2015: RPG

As another year ends, the CGM staff has come together to award Game of the Year to deserving titles of 2015. After a lengthy and heated debate on podcast, and a vote from the CGM staff all over the world, we have crowned our GotY picks! Eight categories that span all year and a wide range of genres. These titles are the best of the best of 2015 and demonstrate unique qualifications that set them apart and above in 2015. Here is our pick forRPG Game of the Year.

There are many things that make up the RPG genre; from games that echo the traditional sensibilities of pen & paper RPGs to the stories and characters that have become synonymous with JRPGs, the RPG genre challenges the player’s tactical ability and decision making skills over the simple “button mash” beat-em-up styles of more action-based genres. These games stood out as the most gripping and stimulating experiences in the genre this year.

Winner: The Witcher 3 In some respects, The Witcher 3 shares a lot of similarities with recent Bethesda and BioWare games. Mechanically, the game also manages to get a lot of things right, with a lot of systems clearly keeping to their more complex cRPG roots. There’s a crafting system that’s almost overwhelming in its requirements for ingredients, components, and the possibility to upgrade existing items.

The Witcher series has always been defined by its blending of real-time, action-based combat with traditional RPG systems in vast, open-world settings, and The Witcher III is no exception. It is one of, if not the most overwhelmingly beautiful games to date, with graphical settings that can make even the most powerful of purpose-built gaming PCs weep. For fans of the franchise and action-oriented RPGs alike, The Witcher 3 is truly the must-have title of 2015.